Stone-Ideas.com 
In the main article on the “Interlocking Stone House,“ we described an innovative idea from India for massive stone construction. The stone slabs were loosened from the rock using small fires. Per Storemyr, a geoarchaeologist from Norway, referred us to two sources, which we have evaluated below. Storemyr himself has discussed the methods of stone extraction in detail for ancient Egypt and conducted numerous experiments on the subject in Norway (see links below).
In the scientific journal “Nature“ (January 17, 1895), H. Warth laconically states: “At Bangalore, in Southern India, the quarrying of granite slabs by means of wood fire has been brought to such perfection, that an account of the method may not be out of place.” For example, he cites the case of a stone slab extracted using heat with a maximum length of 60 ft (18 m) and a maximum width of 40 ft (12 m) and mentions that its thickness varied by only one inch (2.54 cm) over most of the slab.
In “Mining History” (Volume 13, No. 1, Summer 1996), Paul T. Maddock describes in detail this quarrying technique, which he observed 15 km north of Bangalore:
* Stones with many cracks cannot be broken in a controlled manner using heat. Specialists must make a selection.
* Then a small hole is driven into the stone with a blunt chisel. The depth is usually around eight cm. At the end, the chisel remains wedged in place.
* Then, a small fire with slow-burning twigs is lit above the hole with a chisel. The workers carefully regulate the fire and repeatedly extinguish it to clear the hole of ash so the heat can optimally penetrate the rock.
* There, it caused cracks.
* The fire is extended in stages in one direction. The fact that and how the cracks in the rock spread below can be indirectly observed from above by the specialists lightly striking the rock with hammers and feeling what is happening below based on the vibrations. The sound of the hammer blows can also be helpful. The author calls this sound a “hollow ring.“
* Finally, the entire slab is loosened from the sides using wooden wedges.
The author cites early morning or late afternoon as the best time for quarrying with heat. The monsoon period is particularly suitable because then the cracks only form deep in the stone, making thicker slabs possible.
He emphasizes that this type of heat-breaking should not be confused with the familiar blasting of stone, as practiced in the Middle Ages in silver and gold mines. At that time, the goal was not to extract stone for further use, but rather to break the rock into small pieces so that it could be smelted and the valuable minerals extracted.
Finally, another quote from “Nature“ from 1895: “So easily are these (stone) strips and slabs obtained, that it is quite common to see palisades of them instead of boundary walls, and also to see them used as posts for huts, for telegraphs, and for railings and posts in gardens.”
A characteristic of this type of stone mining is that it requires stonemasons with special expertise. This ranges from assessing cracks in the original stone to tracking crack growth under fire.
Even today, special skills of quarry workers are known from other places e.g. Carrara, such as the ability to detect cracks in the raw block by sound. These skills are based on years of experience and have nothing to do with mysticism.